Campus Construction Update

The Menino building lobby entrance is currently closed. This, along with the ongoing Yawkey building entrance closure, will help us bring you an even better campus experience that matches the exceptional care you've come to expect. Please enter the Menino and Yawkey buildings through the Moakley building, and make sure to leave extra time to get to your appointment. Thank you for your patience. 

Click here to learn more about our campus redesign. 

Center For The Urban Child and Healthy Family

617.981.5897

About Us

“The greatest predictor of a child’s health should not be his or her zip code.”

Statistics about 3 social programs at BMC

BMC Pediatrics in particular is home to some of the world's most important and widely disseminated care innovations including Reach Out and Read, Medical-Legal Partnership and Health Leads. That is why BMC is uniquely positioned to be on the forefront of designing and implementing new models of care that meet the complex health and social needs of urban children and their families. Boston Medical Center (BMC) has a long and successful history of caring for the city’s most vulnerable patients. In a city that is the epicenter for training and delivery of world-class innovative health care, BMC is the largest safety net hospital in New England.  As such, BMC has long recognized that an individual’s economic status, education level, access to good schools, secure housing, food, and so much more can impact health.  That's why for more than 100 years, whether caring for newborns, children, or adults, the hospital’s clinical teams have focused not only on the medical needs of each patient, but also on the social needs.  

In 2016, BMC Pediatrics launched the Center for the Urban Child and Healthy Family, to revolutionize the model of care for pediatric patients and their families, standing at the epicenter of clinical care, research, and the community.

Our Team

Center For The Urban Child and Healthy Family Leadership Team

Practice of the Future Clinical Innovation Team

Barbara Alcena
Financial Coach

Rachael Claborn
Social Worker

Katherine Edson
Practice Transformation Coordinator

Cyndie Hatcher
Provider and Clinical Champion

Elizabeth Jimenez Kog
Community Wellness Advocate

Myrca Joseph
Community Wellness Advocate

Kandice Pina
Practice Coordinator

Sara Stulac
Provider

Rosie Wilder
Practice Coordinator

Research and Evaluation Team

Hedaya Badr
Research Assistant

Miriam Bremer-Kamen
Research Coordinator

Audrey Cantillon
Research Assistant

Naya Habr
Research Assistant

Yasaman Khorsandian
Research Assistant

Joshua Lim
Research Assistant

Leena Sarhan
Research Assistant

Michelle Stransky
Senior Research Scientist

Julia Trifan
Senior Research Assistant

Family Advisory Board

Shay Simmons, Parent Liaison

April Alston

Jennifer Cotard

Maisha Harley

Soraya Harley

Afeisha Henry-Renne

Chatoya Lawson

Evelyn Lilly

Patient Resources

Provider Resources

Additional Information

Donors and Funding Needs
Faculty Program Grants
Outcomes
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Pediatric Practice of the Future

“The greatest predictor of a child’s health should not be his or her zip code.”

Pediatric care represents a tremendous opportunity to improve children’s health and well-being—infants come to primary care 6 times in the first year of life alone, and pediatric providers develop longitudinal relationships with families. But to best care for children and families, we must re-design our care delivery to actively partner both other health care providers (like adult medicine, obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry), educators and community organizations; develop novel programs; and bring the best of existing evidence into our daily practice.

The Center, in collaboration with BMC Pediatrics Primary Care is creating the Pediatric Practice of the Future that:

  • Empowers families to define their health priorities and design their own care
  • Provides care to the family
  • Provides new opportunities to promote social and emotional child health
  • Develops deeper community partnerships
  • Leverages technology to provide flexible care options and facilitate communication
  • Re-thinks the composition and roles of care team members

Healthy and Ready to Learn by 5

The Center has set a goal that by 2028, all children seen in BMC Pediatrics will be healthy, ready to learn, with adequate support to thrive by age five. Focus on this age group enables:

  • Emphasis on bi-generational wellness
  • Connection with other child serving agencies
  • Focus on formational time for life course health
  • National momentum within Medicaid around early childhood and school readiness
  • Sector with most reach during this time period
  • Investment in early childhood promotes health across the life course